Ford dealership denied warranty claim on my 3 week old truck....

This is a discussion on Ford dealership denied warranty claim on my 3 week old truck.... within the Ford F-150 Raptor General Discussions [GEN 2] forums, part of the GEN 2 (2017+) Ford F-150 Raptor Forums category! So I picked up my 2018 white screw loaded raptor on 4/14/18. Drove 6 hrs into Ohio from Pa to ...

So I picked up my 2018 white screw loaded raptor on 4/14/18. Drove 6 hrs into Ohio from Pa to get the truck. I get home that Saturday after the 6 hr ride and noticed that the graphics sticker on the drivers side had a chip missing out of the front of it, it had literally started falling apart. Now I know most don’t like the stickers, and I originally didn’t want them, but I had only owned the truck 7 hrs and for $74000, someone was fixing the stickers.

I call the dealership I bought the truck from and they said that yes, the stickers are covered under warranty. But that was 6 hrs away and that I should call my local dealer and have them start the claim. Here’s where I should have just drove 6 hrs to get the sticker replaced, because my local dealer turned out to be a POS dealership and I have NO problem giving anyone their name so that no one else uses the dealer, buys from them or gets service work done there.

Sunday 4/15/18 I get up and take my brand new truck for a complete detail. It’s not a daily driver, and parked inside, so I figured let’s get it cleaned up. Full wash, clay bar, paint sealant, wash, ceramic treatment and 8 hrs later it looks real nice!! Pick it up, go home, and park it. Monday the 16th I start calling my local dealer about the warranty claim. 8 calls, 2 voicemails and 7 days later someone finally returns my call to bring the truck in to get looked at.

I show up at the dealer on the 23rd to have the truck looked at. Service guy takes all the info and says let’s look at the truck. The chip got a little bigger, but the adhesive is still there, just chipping away. I explain to him that I don’t really care if it’s replaced or taken off. It just needs fixed because it looks like shit. The first thing he does is takes his dirty ass finger and starts rubbing the adhesive real hard. And says looks like someone tried to remove the sticker. I wanted to break his hands. I told him I just spent a small fortune on having the truck detailed, he said well the adhesive is dirty so someone has been scratching it. I told him he was the first person to touch the spot, that he just got the damn thing dirty. He said he would call me on the 25th with info about getting it replace. Sticker was only $224. Great I said.

Fast forward to today, after 3 calls and and 2 voicemails, again a week goes by, he calls back. Said that ford denied the warranty claim because the adhesive was still there, that the sticker was falling apart itself, and that it was dirty when they filed the claim, ford said they were not responsible for replacing the sticker. I wanted to puke I was so mad on the phone. Told me to call customer care. After 20 mins of back and forth about his fingering of my truck and how he made it look bad, and him stating someone tried to peel the sticker off, I told him to email me the copy of what they submitted to ford and hung up. I called the dealership back I bought it from and they said they would fix it no questions asked. But it’s 6 hrs away. They told me the local dealership was wrong.

So I call Fords customer care hotline today. The rep gives me a little different story than what the dealership said on how they submitted the claim. Long story short, a Regional Rep is supposed to call me tomorrow to figure out a solution. The rep asked me if I would sell the truck over this issue and I said yes. It wasn’t the point of the sticker now, just the principal of the matter.

All of this over a stupid sticker, but I’m pissed at how I was treated at the dealership. Seriously, a damn sticker that means nothing!!! I’ll do whatever I can to keep people away from my local dealer. I could care less if the stickers are on there or not, but to get screwed by a shady dealership, denied a warranty claim over something so small, how would they treat me for a real claim? What if I had an oil pan leak, or a rod knocking, or some serious issue like some have had on this forum? What the hell would I do then? Again, it’s just the point that I say look at my brand new truck, and the first thing everyone says is look at the sticker, you paid how much?

Hence the reason I drive past the Ford Dealership one mile from me and continue to drive further to the one that understands customer service. Going there tomorrow morning to possible get the A/C compressor or Alternator replaced under warranty on my 65k mile raptor.

I get you’re frustrated with the dealer but all the dealer does for physical claims is they take a photo and it’s sent to corporate for approval. I had a power folding mirror on another Ford that failed. Part of the claim process was that a photo needed to be taken of the mirror for the warranty claim to be accepted to verify there was no exterior damage.

I think you need to think of the bottom line. If you like the truck, are OK with the stickers being removed as you stated, you shouldn’t be stating to the corporate rep that you would return the truck over this IMHO. When you say that, they are looking at it from a lemon law perspective, and a defective sticker isn’t going to be a very good argument for a buyback.

If you like the sticker keep fighting with corporate for a replacement or drive back to the purchasing dealer for a replacement as they stated it wouldn’t be an issue.

A factory replacement sticker costs $224. To get both sides would be 224x2=$448.
The bed decal package from Ford is $1075. 1075-448=$627 for labor?
Or if you go eBay route, it's $99 for a knockoff set
I don't have a math degree so I better just trust what Ford charges

Those stickers are garbage. The first thing I did to the truck was rip those eyesores off. And they just snap and break in tiny pieces... Took me 20 minutes to realize I needed a heat gun or I'd be doing this for 8 hours. Go buy a heat gun if you don't have one, peel that POS off both sides, hit any leftover glue with some alcohol and repolish/wax the sides. 1 hour of your time, infinitely better looking truck. How ford designers could make such a sexy truck... Then think to themselves "let's upsell this with a 1000.00 set of bedside stickers from a 1987 IrocZ.. Awww yeah that'll bring 'em in baby!". 🤨😑